FPT Industrial is celebrating 150 years of engineering innovation with the success of its innovative N67 marine engine

FPT Industrial is celebrating 150 years of engineering innovation with an emphatic commitment to use its technical prowess to protect the marine environment.

Based in Turin, Italy, FPT Industrial is a brand within the Iveco Group dedicated to the design and production of powertrain solutions for marine, automotive and power generation applications. Employing more than 8,000 people across ten production sites and R&D centres around the world, it currently offers six engine ranges delivering power outputs from 30hp to over 1,000hp. The company’s design teams are also hard at work on developing net zero-emissions powertrain solutions, using electric drivelines, battery packs, and advanced battery management systems.

Marine Conservation

FPT Industrial has fully committed to ensuring it’s pioneering work contributes significantly to the conservation of marine ecosystems by supplying two cost-effective and low power-to-weight N67 engines to power the 21m motorsailer Pelagos, originally built as a private yacht, but now the operational hub of the ground=breaking Tethys scientific monitoring project.

“We were struck at once by FPT Industrial’s strong interest in sustainability and the conservation of biodiversity,” explains Caterina Lanfredi of the Tethys Research Institute – a non-profit organization studying and conserving the marine environment within a 90,000 km² area of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas off the coasts of Italy, France and Monaco.

“FPT Industrial’s support for our project and the reliability of its N67 engine is enabling us to increase our scientific knowledge and help conserve Mediterranean cetaceans and their habitat.”

 Caterina Lanfredi, Tethys Cetacean Sanctuary Research

The N67 engine’s low noise and durability is proving ideal for the continuous, intensive operations needed to carry out the non-stop monitoring required. Simple servicing with oil and filter change intervals of up to 600 hours are also helping to minimize downtimes and costs.

“FPT Industrial’s support for our project and the reliability of its N67 engines is enabling us to continue our vital work in order to increase our scientific knowledge, raise public awareness, and, most importantly, help to conserve Mediterranean cetaceans and their habitat,” adds Lanfredi.

Venice Vaporetto

FPT Industrial has also taken a leading role in the pioneering retrofit of the vaporetto (Venetian public waterbus), MotoBattello 3. The vessel’s original diesel engine has been replaced with an FPT Industrial serial hybrid system, composed of an auxiliary N67 450 N variable speed engine coupled to a variable speed generator integrated with a battery pack with eight LFP modules. The energy produced powers a 147kW electric motor to power the boat’s propulsion and auxiliary requirements.

Tests have shown that the new N67-driven propulsion solution provides reductions in pollutants such as carbon dioxide (-32%), nitrogen oxides (-26%), particulate matter (-31%), and unburned hydrocarbons (-7%), for a total reduction in emissions of 28%.

Engineering Excellence

“FPT Industrial’s Bourbon-Lancy facility is a true manifestation of the company’s engineering excellence,” says Sylvain Blaise, president of Iveco Group’s Powertrain Business Unit. “It is the result of a winning commercial formula that combines human talent with cutting-edge technology and innovation. Some 1,200 people work at the Turin factory every day with passion and dedication - transforming raw materials into engines that power the world.”